The Holy Spirit woke me up early on Tuesday morning (I’m pretty sure it was Tuesday morning) and indicated that He wanted me get up and go to my closet (walk in wardrobe) where I pray and spend time with Him…

The verses from Joel 2:

It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29 NASB)

were particularly on my mind as I commenced my time with Him…

Soon I was led to read the entire chapter of Joel 2 – I was deeply pondering what all these things meant – and then I was led to read Peter’s interpretation of these words in Acts 2:

‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ (Acts 2:17-21 NASB)

As I was reading something suddenly dawned on me – I read back through the entire chapter of Acts 2 – it suddenly dawned on me when I read, “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart,” (Acts 2:37a NASB) that those men of Jerusalem who were smitten with the word which Peter brought – had actually observed the sun turn into darkness and the moon turn into blood on the day that Jesus had died…

Now I knew that the sun had been darkened in the middle of the day – I’d heard that before – but I’d never heard that the moon had turned to blood – I’d heard previously the interpretation of this meaning a lunar eclipse – but I’d never heard that this occured when Jesus died or on the night just after He’d died but suddenly that was the meaning that was the understanding that I was seeing and it broke me down…

I sat there sobbing and crying – and swearing to be honest (in disbelief) – and just being absolutely blown away by what I was seeing – I knew I had to search this out and find out if this was really true…

If it was really true then someone in history would have recorded it…

I googled it…

And started reading…

Some of the things I found touched me…

Others seemed a fabrication – just didn’t “ring true”…

Again this morning – Sunday morning – I felt that I needed to complete this…

I again googled it and found the below:

http://www.asa3.org/ASA/PSCF/1985/JASA3-85Humphreys.html

I do not agree with every single word written at the above link but I have an “overarching” sense of a few key things…

I believe the date of the crucifixion was Friday 03 April 33AD (Friday 14th of Nisan in the Jewish Calendar) as Humphreys and Waddington purport.

I believe there was an eclipse of the moon (a lunar eclipse) on the evening of Jesus’ death and I believe that the moon did turn to blood on that evening at the time when the Jews would be looking up at the moon (around 6pm) – which should have been full – to decide when to begin their celebration of the Passover meal…

I believe that the sun was darkened and that the moon did turn to blood on the day that Jesus died…

I believe that when the Jews heard what Peter said and the interpretation which he gave to the prophecy from Joel – they were cut to the quick and knew that the Judgement of God was near and that they needed to get right with their Creator…

Which they did – three thousand of them did…

And the Church began, with a miracle the Church began…

And with a miracle the Church continues…

Another link I read that Tuesday (pretty sure it was Tuesday and not Wednesday) morning was the below:

http://www.geocentricity.com/ba1/no084/crucifixn.html

Again, I’m not agreeing with every word recorded in the above link either but the following quote rings true to me:

Eusebius

Writing about the year 315, in his Chronicle, volume II, the historian and friend of the emperor Constantine, Eusebius, writes about the eighteenth year of Tiberius Caesar that:  “Christ suffered this year, in which time we find in other commentaries of the heathen these words: “There was a defection of the sun: Bithynia was shaken with an earthquake, and many houses fell down in the city of Nicea.””

Unfortunately, Eusebius did not list the “other commentaries of the heathen.”

Bithynia was a large geographical area appearing to encompass modern day Turkey and the city of Nicea was at one time a prominant city in Bithynia…

Apparently Nicea was around 1600km from Jerusalem and yet the earthquake which occurred at the time which Jesus died was felt in Nicea…

Hallelujah Father!!!

So what does this mean?

I don’t know…

I’m trying to figure that out…

If we return to Joel 2 with the understanding that Jesus’ death fulfilled Joel 2:31 what does that do to our interpretation of “end time events”?

I’ve always felt that Joel 2:30-32 was still “to come”…

I’ve always felt that “the great and awesome day of the Lord” was at “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7b KJV)…

I felt now that the Jewish people who heard Peter’s sermon got the full import of what Peter was saying – they were living it then – the kingdom had “come in power” and some of them had not tasted death before they saw it – as Jesus prophesied before He died…

Not only did they see the sun supernaturally darkened in the middle of the day for three hours – couldn’t have been a solar eclipse because it was at full moon – and not only had they seen the moon turn to blood on the same night and in between had they experienced an “earth shattering”, “rock splitting” earthquake and not only had they also experienced dead people being resurrected and coming into Jerusalem after Jesus rose from the dead and being seen by many people and not only had many seen Jesus resurrected – He was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time – and many had watched as He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives – probably around 120 who had then returned to the upper room to pray…

Now they experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit upon those 120 disciples and the bold preaching of Peter and the salvation three thousand people on one day…

Next they experienced everyone selling their possessions and giving to any who had need – I think, I really think that they believed that they were in the “end times” and needed to live like they were in the “end times”…

I’m sure some of them knew their scripture regarding the 70 weeks of Daniel and knew that they were now into the last week…

I suppose they were fully “primed” for the Lord to return from heaven very, very shortly and bring in His Millenial Reign…

I suppose if I had have been alive then I would have been fully “primed” for all sorts of “occurrences” to “happen”…

I suppose in some ways the ones who were left would have been buoyed up with an exuberance which might have needed to be tested by adversity to see whether it was real and I suppose that is what they experienced when the persecution struck later on…

Heady days…

It also dawns on me that Jesus was “cagey” with his disciples when they asked Him in Acts 1 about how the “end times” (which they saw as now imminent) would “pan out”…

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8 NASB)

I suppose we know in hindsight that the “prophetic clock” in terms of the 70 weeks “stopped” when the veil was torn in two and Jesus died…

I suppose the Jews alive at Jesus’ time had to learn this as the last seven years passed by after His death and He didn’t return to earth to reign – I suppose they knew then that the 70 weeks were not going to be fulfilled directly…

In their lifetime…

I suppose Jesus had warned them…

It kind of reminds me of how the Lord is with me sometimes…

I get “all excited” about things which I believe He has told me only to be disappointed when they don’t seem to happen the way in which I understand or believe that they are meant to happen…

The Lord would say to me as He said to His disciples,

It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:7b-8 NASB)

I suppose this is my place…

Everything we go through, everything we let go, everything we prepare ourselves for is not at the end of the day a preparation for what we think is going to happen – we may not understand things fully – we may not have the understanding which we are meant to have – or even may not be able to understand things the way in which we are meant to understand them but we carry on – our focus is not to be on what may or may not happen – our focus is to be on the Lord…

He will give us power when the Holy Spirit has come upon us and we will be His witnesses from wherever we’re living now, to the next city and to the next city and to the ends of the earth…

And we won’t finish going through all the towns and villages bringing in the last souls – we won’t be “sitting around on our hands” – until He comes again…

Where does that leave me in terms of the “end times”…

Are we already in the “end times” on the basis of what Peter shared on the day of Pentecost?

I suppose I need to wait until the Holy Spirit tells me but as I wait I need to tarry in Christchurch until He endues me with power from on High – this much I know – at some point in my life I will be His witness – and He Alone knows when that will be…

I will witness and I will wait to be His witness and He Alone knows when that will be…

‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. ‘AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE AND SIGNS ON THE EARTH BELOW, BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOR OF SMOKE. ‘THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME. ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’ (Acts 2:17-21 NASB)

We are now in “the last days”…